Spotlight on the Permanent Collection: Edward Burtynsky

These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire – a chance at a good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.

—Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky has travelled the world photographing the impact of human industry on the natural environment. Through his documentation of the sites where our primary resources are extracted and produced, he reveals the consequences of our actions. Taken from a bird’s eye or long-range perspective and printed on a monumental scale, his photographs capture the vast scope of human enterprise. Intricately detailed and visually seductive, they draw us in, only to confront us with uncomfortable truths about our relationship with the planet.

Edward Burtynsky is regarded as one of the world’s most accomplished contemporary photographers. Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, in 1955 to Ukrainian parents, he received his BAA in Photography/Media Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). His photographs are currently being exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the globe, and are held in the collections of more than 80 major museums, including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa; the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York; the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid; Tate Modern in London, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His numerous distinctions include the inaugural TED Prize, the Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, the Lucie Award for Achievement in Documentary Photography, the International Center of Photography’s Infinity Award for Art, and World Photography Organization’s Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award, among others. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and an inductee of the International Photography Hall of Fame. In Toronto, he is represented by Nicholas Metivier Gallery.

The Spotlight exhibition features photographs generously donated by Marcus Schubert to the Art Gallery of Mississauga Permanent Collection in 2025. Each photograph derives from a different series, spanning approximately 30 years of Burtynsky’s artistic practice. His work is also on view in the AGM Resource Room.